I'm not really having a huge trial right now- Taylor is. The BAR is in 2 days and he's actually getting stressed- which is really foreign for Taylor. He even admitted tonight that he'd never worked this hard in law school and it's true, not anywhere near this hard. This is like every final he had over the past 8 semesters all lumped into one. Poor guy, it'll be over soon.
The only trial for me has been lack of a break and kids who really miss their dad. They've started mobbing him the second he walks in the door and Isaac, who says almost no words consistently and never on command, has started shouting "dada, dada" and dancing around when he sees him and he'll even wave and say "bye-bye" to him. This really is unheard of behavior for him and only Taylor is showered with these shows of affection. It's kind of cute to see that he misses him.
So although we're suffering from a lack of Taylor being around, the Lord blessed us by bringing some of our best friends out from DC and they invited us up to visit. Catherine had her second baby 5 weeks ago and has been recuperating with the help of her family. We joined them for 2 days and loved every minute of it. It doesn't hurt that Ethan and Kennedy can't get enough of each other and played well most of the time- come on, can you really expect a 2 and 4 year old to share ALL the time?
L to R: Isaac, Ethan, and Kennedy
The first night we were there her family took up to a dairy farm/store where we had amazing ice cream. Afterwards we got to go visit the animals which was a good lesson for Ethan in where our food comes from. 
They had goats on the farm and this was the boys favorite thing since the baby goats would come and eat straw out of their hands.
Even Isaac tried to get in on the action, picking up the straw and throwing it in to them. Sadly he didn't quite get the concept of holding it for them and waiting.
The next day we had a very productive outing for the moms to a fabric/craft store where I found great fabric for the babies and boys rooms and then since they put up with having to tag along on our shopping trip, we took them to feed ducks on the river. Catherine found a great spot with lots of ducks right across from the Idaho Falls temple. Isaac spent the first few minutes eating the duck's bread and then finally joined in on throwing it to them. If you look close you can actually see the bread he threw in this shot right above the goose.
He was happy to feed the ducks until he discovered these rocks beside the river. 
That afternoon Catherine's sister Kelli took us to visit her horse Louie. Ethan couldn't get enough of feeding him, unfortunately it's dangerous to get your fingers too close because they can apparently be mistaken for carrots, so Ethan had to keep his distance with the straw or have help every time which he didn't appreciate much. 
Isaac wouldn't go near him except to pet him. 
Ethan was brave though and rode on him. Unfortunately his sandal started to slip off so he did as well.
L to R: Catherine's cute mom, Catherine with baby Truman, Ethan, Kennedy, and Kelli.
Saturday morning we went to Bear World just outside of Yellowstone. 
These are the only pictures of bears I took since you weren't supposed to roll your windows down while you were driving through the forest.
The boys were of course fascinated when the bears started fighting and of course I had to laugh when I overheard every other mother as well as myself explaining that they're just playing- not fighting. Looks like Ethan and Isaac sometimes.
They were less than impressed with the bears being bottle fed and after watching the kid who was doing the feeding cry, I'm glad we didn't shell out any extra dough for an experience that might have terrorized my kids. 
We moved on to the petting zoo where again my children were less than impressed with the actual animals and just wanted to stomp in the mud puddles and throw rocks in the river. Isaac actually walked up to this baby deer asleep on the grass and when he got close enough to see that he wasn't doing anything interesting, he walked right away- didn't even care to pet him. 
Apparently this little stream is more exciting than turkeys, goats, chickens, deer, pigs, and other animals.
After a break for snacks and a drive through the bear habitat, we let the kids go on a few rides. Thanks Catherine for riding with Isaac since it would have been hard for me to cram my expanding belly and into those little seats. 
This was Ethan's favorite. He said that at least 15 times while I was downloading these pictures. 
It was a jam-packed, fun-filled few days and we were so grateful for the break. My kids were constantly entertained and I didn't have to do any cooking or cleaning the whole time. Plus there was great company and conversation. Thanks Catherine and family! We had a great time!
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